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Apple has confirmed reports that it will not sue the FBI in an effort to get the agency to reveal the method it used to crack into the San Bernardino iPhone 5c, saying whatever method the FBI ended up using will have "a short shelf life," as the company has made significant improvements to security in later iPhones and operating system updates, and users upgrade their iPhones routinely. In a related case brought by the US Department of Justice in New York, however, Apple may require the FBI to reveal the method in order for the agency to prove in court that its claim that the hack doesn't work on newer iPhones is true.

Plex is under threat from a hacker, attempting to blackmail the service by holding some of its customer data up for ransom. The streaming media software developer's forums have been breached, with the hacker demanding bitcoin from the company, otherwise the attacker will release all the acquired customer data, as well as other software and files picked up in the intrusion for all to see.

A counter-hack against the Lizard Squad hacking group's distributed denial of service (DDoS) tool LizardStresser has resulted in a customer data theft. Details of 14,241 users of the disruptive hacking tool have been stolen from the group's site, including user names, passwords, and other data stored in plain text, and has now been posted online.

North Korea has verbally fired back at allegations that it is behind the Sony Pictures attack. Calling the recent FBI statement identifying the country as the culprit "groundless slander," the country is demanding a joint investigation into the hack, with the country's experts and US law enforcement working side-by-side. If the US should refuse, North Korea's foreign ministry promised "grave consequences," presumably to US interests. The government of North Korea continues to deny that they hack, which has caused an estimated $100 million of damage to Sony Pictures, not including less tangible problems, can on the country.

Hackers behind the Sony Pictures intrusion have made a more public demand for the company to stop the release of an upcoming film. The demand from the "Guardians of Peace" is accompanied by another large release of internal data, with information about aliases used by celebrities, as well as more contact information for the stars and their assistants.

The Sony Pictures hack attack has taken a dark turn. A mass email in broken English went out to employees whose data was stolen by the so-called "Guardians of Peace," demanding that recipients return the email, or "not only you but your family will be in danger." In the email, the attackers are demanding that employees "make your company behave wisely" in order to stop future incidents by the hack group.

The Sony Pictures data breach may be bigger than originally believed, as reports claim a lot more people than the 6,000 employees have been affected. Personal data including Social Security numbers for more than 47,000 current and former employees were apparently involved in the leak, including information relating to famous celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone and Rebel Wilson.

Despite previously calling a movie soon to be released by Sony Pictures an "act of war," North Korea has denied any involvement in the seemingly-ongoing studio hack. An anonymous diplomat from the country has refuted state involvement in the data theft, and claims that North Korea has "publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy."

While not specifically naming any names, the FBI has warned that a major cyberattack has taken place against US businesses in the last two weeks. The advisory, likely given in the wake of the enormous Sony breach, gives some details about the tools used in the assault, and provides advice to the businesses on how to respond to the package, which includes informing the FBI.

In late October, the White House was the target of "unusual activity" on unclassified networks, leading to the sweep of internal systems for malware and other nefarious infiltrations. As it turns out, the White House wasn't the only high-profile network hit, as the US State Department detected "activity of concern" around the same time period.

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Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit

Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj

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Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket

The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]

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Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera

Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94

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Apple employees testing wheelchair features

New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa

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SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards

SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If

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Apple's third-quarter results due July 26

Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm

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Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users

Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE